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Margaret Ana Louise Harrison (1916-1999)
}} Notable relatives A notable first cousin on her mother's side is Bruce Houlton Slane (bef1932). (Two sons, living, each with two children) Taranaki and Whakatane Gretta was born at either Hawera, New Zealand or Patea, New Zealand (the family were living at Patea, where her father was an engineer looking after machinery at the freezing works, but Hawera possibly had better maternity facilities). Later another engineering job took them to Whakatane. W(h)anganui A final move by her father returned him to Wanganui (now officially called "Whanganui" though in the local dialect the pronunciation is virtually identical), near most of their close relatives. She lost her mother at age 9 or 10 but was well looked after by aunts in Wanganui and had two older brothers at home for a while. She joked that she and a girlfriend had fooled the census-takers by being off on a high-country tramp and missing a census, with the result that Wanganui and Invercargill had been declared to have exactly the same population, but she knew better. Later she got a teaching job in Wellington. During her long association with various Presbyterian churches, Gretta played piano and organ and led choirs and promoted support of missionaries. Her sons always called her "Mother". She was a wonderful formative influence on Robin, encouraging his interest in theatre, music, astronomy, trees, and genealogy, as well as finding him the holiday job as a survey chainman in 1961 that turned into half a career. She was a member of the Otago Art Society. She was a keen gardener until her hands were no longer able to cope. She did considerable planting at 20 Pitt Street in Dunedin when Robin and Julie lived from 1969 to 1971; many of those plants were still prominent at the time of her death. Widowhood As a widow Gretta remained at Beta Street for many years before moving to more maintenance-free accommodation in the south-east of the city. She died in 1999 at Dunedin, New Zealand at age 82, after a peaceful few years at McKenzie Nursing Home on Musselburgh Rise, where she had seen much of her younger son and his former wife and their daughters. Funeral 27 April 1999 at First Church of Otago, Dunedin, conducted by Rev Alan Kerr of Anderson's Bay, followed by cremation. A lovely calm, mild sunny day. Pallbearers were son Robin, grandson Jonathan, three staff of the McKenzie Nursing Home, where she had spent some years, and her former gardener. Also in attendance (in addition to numerous friends) were Robin's wife (Julie), Ian's former wife (Brenda), and two granddaughters (Annabel and Claire). Linda lived rather too far away, in Napier. Ian was in Dunedin but decided not to attend. See death notices, Otago Daily Times, Dominion, and Evening Post, 26/4/99. References See also External links Category:born in Taranaki Region Category:born in New Zealand Category:resided in New Zealand Category:resided in Fiji Category:married in Whanganui Category:married in New Zealand category:Resided in Wellington category:Resided in Dunedin category:resided in Orawia Category:died in Dunedin Category:Upgraded from info page